Switch-stand lock



Dec. 15,1925. 1,565,679

L. R. SHAFFER SWITCH STAND LOCK Filed Feb. 4. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l lNVENTOR f; ATTORNEYS Dec. 15 1925. 1,565,679

L. R. SHAF'FER SWITCH STAND LOCK Filed Feb. 4. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l llll mlunwh m-I m 25 "'ill .I

ll-ffFII %4' ATTORNEYJ Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

L ARKIN R. SHAFFER, 0F GARLAND, UTAH.

SWITCH-STAND LOCK.

Application filed February 4, 1925. Serial No. 6,824.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LARKIN R. SHAFFER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Garland, in the county of Box Elder and 5 State of Utah, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Switch-Stand Locks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the ac- 10 companying drawing, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in switch stand locks and particularly to a lock for a stand of what is known as a ground throw switch, this type of stand being of comparatively low structure adapted for use in yards where the higher switch stands, such as disclosed in my Patent No. 1,533,431, dated October 28, 1924, cannot be use -An object of the invention is to devise a foot latch for ground throw switch stands that will be maintained in its locking position by gravity but which can be unlocked by a foot lever.

A further object is to so arrange the locking elements with respect to the switch lever that when said lever is returned to the posi tion in which it is normally locked, it will engage the latch and remove the same from lockin position so that said lever may pass beyon into its locked position, the latch being immediately and automatically restored to its locking position where it will remain until again operated by the foot lever.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrange-- ments of parts, all as will hereinafter be more fully described and the novel features thereof particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 7

In the accompanying drawings,.

Fi ure 1 is an end view ofa ground throw switc stand;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the stand;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal scectional view through the casing;

. Figsf 4 and 5 a detail v s the operating handle; y i i Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of switch lever latch;

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views of the locking ring; and

Fig. 10 is a detail view of the end plate for the casing or housing.

For the reasons before mentioned, the present stand is comparatively low, and the switch lever 10 is received in a vertical slot 11 in the casing 12 so that it rests quite close to the ground when in its normal locked position.

A latch 13 is adapted to span the slot or recess 11 and overlie the switch lever 10, the latch being maintained in this lever locking position by means such as an abutment 14 within the casing. Preferably said latch 13 consists of a wheel journaled on a pin extending across the casing, this wheel having the a plurality of arms, one of which overlies the switch lever and another of which is held by the abutment 14 so as to prevent the latch rotating and releasing the lever 10.

To permit the latch to be released, abutment 14 is preferably a cross bar carried near the inner extremity of an operating handle or lever 15 whose extremity is located without the casing 10 where the operators foot may be placed upon it to depress said outer end and elevate abutment 14 out of the path of'the adjacent latch arm, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. In this position, latch 13 is free to rotate on its pivot and will do'so'as lever 10 is raised to throw the switch, thus bringing the lower arm in posi tion across the slot or recess 11. While the cross bar or abutment 14 may alone be relied. upon to hold latch 13 against rotation, it is preferred that a ring member 16, loosely suspended on a cross pin 17 be interposed between the latch and abutment as the resiliency of the ring will appreciably reduce the shocks that would otherwise be placed on'the abutment.

It is, of course, desirable to have the parts automatically return to their locking positions and for this reason, the operating lever is formed with a counter-balancing weight 18 so that after the arm which was e jw et abu ment 14 passes the le the inner end of the operating lever, together with the abutment and ring member will be returned by gravity to their lower or locking positions. They will, of course, be in this position, even when switch lever is in its uppermost position but this will not interfere with the return of said lever to its lower position because when said lever moves downwardly in slot 11 it will engage the latch arm extending across the slot and cause the latch to rotate in a reverse dlrection, the inner end of the operating lever being free to be elevated by the lever arm that at that moment is projecting inwardly of the casing.

Vhile the latch arms are capable of elevating the inner end of the operating lever, when the latch is thus rotated in a reverse direction by the switch lever being returned to its position in recess 11, said arms cannot rotate in the opposite direction and depress the end of the operating lever. TlllS depression of the abutment is preferably prevented by having the abutment located below the pivoted center of the operating lever and having said center located'at a point within the casing so that upward movement of the projecting portion of said lever is limited by the upper end wall of the slot in the casing through which said lever extends.

While various forms of operating levers may be used, it is preferred that said 'l'ovcr be made U-shaped as shown in Fig. 5, the abutment let, counterbalance 18, and foot piece 19, each bridging the space between the two arms of the lever. This provides a good strong lever that will stand up under rather rough usage. To accommod-ate a lever of this construction, the end of casing 10 is formed with a rather large opening in which is secured a plate 21 (Fig. 10) from whose sides sufficient material is removed to provide slots 22 in casing 10 for receiving the arms 20 of the operating lever. It is the upper end walls of these slots that limit the upward movement of foot piece 19 and downward movement of abutment 14 within the casing.

To lock the operating lever, and consequently, the switch lever, against operation by unauthorized persons, plate 21 is formed with an eye 23 in which any key operated pad lock may be secured. Plate 21 is secured in place in the casing by bolts 24 which extend through the side walls of casing 10 and holes 25 in the ends of the plate.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switch lever associated with the casing, a latch comprising a plurality of arms journaled in said casing, one of said arms being, adapted to engage: the lever, an abutment within the casing adapted to be engaged by another of said arms to hold said latch in its lever locking position, and means for removing said abut ment to free the latch arms and switch lever.

2. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switch lever associated with the casin a latch comprising a plurality of arms journaled in said casing, one of said arms being adapted to engage the lever, an abutment within the casing adapted to be engaged by another of said arms to hold said latch in its lever locking position, means for removing said abutment to free the latch arms and switch lever, and means for automatically returning said abutment to its original position after the switch lever has been unlocked and raised, the arms of the latch being free to pass said abutment in a direction reverse to that in which the arm moves to release the switch lever.

3. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, aswitch lever associated with the casing, a latch comprising a plurality of arms journaled in said casing, one of said arms being adapted to engage the lever, an abutment within the casing adapted to be engaged by another of said armsto hold said latch in its lever locking position, means for removing said abutment to free the latch arms and switch lever, a third arm of said latch being adapted to be engaged by the switch leve r when the latter is returned to its locked position to position all of the arms in their original positions.

at. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a casing, a switch lever, a latch pivoted in the casing engaging said lever, a ring member loosely supported within the casing, an abutment within the casing, said ring and latch being held against movement away from said switch lever by said abutment, and means for moving said abutment and ring member out of engagement with said latch whereby said latch may be moved to free the switch lever.

5. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a rigid casing, a switch lever, a latch pivoted in the casing and. adapted to lock said lever, a ring member loosely suspended in the casing, an o1')erating lever, an abutment carried by said operating lever, said ring member and latch being held against movement in one direction by the switch lever and against movement in the opposite direction by said abutment, said operating lever being accessible from the exterior of the casing to elevate said ring member from the path of said latch whereby said latch is free to move and unlock the switch lever.

6. In a switch stand lock, the combination of a rigid casing, a switch lever, a ring member loosely suspended within the casing,

a pivoted latch member interposed between said ring and switch lever, an operating lever pivoted in the casing, an abutment carried by said lever and extending through said ring member, and means for preventing movement of said abutment and ring member in one direction, one end of said operating lever projecting beyond the casing whereby the opposite end of said lever and the abutment and ring member may be removed from engagement with said latch to unlock the latter, and said ring member to gether with the operating lever and abutment being returnable to their latch engaging position by gravity.

LARKIN R. SHAFFEIE 

